Freefall, Part One
"Freefall, Part One" is the first issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine comic book series. Synopsis Buffy Summers wakes up the morning after a housewarming party naked and hungover, but unable to recall the events of the previous night. She flashes back to the party; she remembers greeting Xander and Dawn at the front door. She's glad to finally have her own place, though she's sharing the apartment with a woman named Anaheed and a young man named Tumble. Willow then arrives with her new girlfriend, Aura. In the present, Buffy expresses concern when she sees Willow exit the shower. Willow, however, reassures her that they had not slept together, but adds that she had been quite a riot during the party. Elsewhere in the city, Detectives Dowling and Cheung find the woundless body of a dead girl in an alley, and reveal her to be the third discovered in one month's time. Flashback to the party the night before: Buffy greets Riley, Spike, and Andrew when they arrive. While at the party, Buffy attempts to connect with Andrew about how it felt to not be in charge of the Slayers anymore, but when Andrew says that he took several of his former Slayer squads and started a disaster-relief organization, making Buffy feel small. Shortly afterward, Spike, who had been making out with a girl at the party, tries to tell Buffy that something is coming after her. The present: In an office, a man and woman hand a picture of Buffy to a demon. The man says "it has to be dealt with." Buffy reports to work at the coffee shop the next morning but her boss had her shift covered because he didn't think she would be in shape to work after what happened at the party the previous night. Elsewhere, a group of demons holding energy spears stand in front of a giant green ball of energy. One demon says "the spells that bind it have weakened." The monster inside breaks out and kills all of them. It has trouble with words, even in thoughts. After leaving the coffee shop, Buffy tries to remember what happened the previous night, and she remembers her and Andrew playing in the pool. Flashback to the previous night: Buffy and Riley walk down the street to his surveillance van (which he had only been using for human terrorists). While Buffy checks out the inside of the van, Riley tells her she had done the right thing by shattering the seed because it was the only way to stop what was happening. Buffy then tells him that his van "needs a woman's touch." The present: Buffy lowers her head in shame, realizing she had made a pass at a married man. Later, her roommates tell her how much they liked her friends, and warn her that they can't have any more wild parties like that or they will get in trouble with the neighbors. Elsewhere, the renegade slayer Simone Doffler drives a van toward San Francisco with machine guns and grenades in the back of it. She's s planning "something big... That changes things... That shows them we're still here." Flashback to the previous night at the party: Buffy shows Xander her bedroom. Something is bothering Xander. Buffy asks if he wants to talk about it. He says he doesn't. She then places her hand on his arm. Xander says that Dawn "never has to know" and the scene abruptly ends. Later, the police shows up at the front door, but the two officers join the party and danc with everyone else. The present: The following evening, Buffy patrols with Willow and they are joined by Spike. Willow says she wants to talk to Buffy alone but Spike insists that he stays. Willow tries to warn Buffy of the consequences of ending magic and tells her that by destroying the seed, Buffy "took the spark of creation out of the world." She says that Buffy can't see it the way she does and hopes it wouldn't be too late when she (Buffy) finally does. The demon given Buffy's picture earlier then emerges from the shadows and yells "It is too late. Buffy Summers, it is time for you to pay... Your student loan!" Willow and Spike laugh at the absurdity of the situation while Buffy is annoyed. Continuity The story is set after "Last Gleaming", ''but before "Slayer, Interrupted". *While at the party, Spike appears to be telling a story about when he first had the chip implanted in his head and failed to attack Willow in "The Initiative", as well as the awkward conversation that followed after. Looking back on it, both Spike and Willow seem to find the situation amusing. *As Buffy tries to piece together her drunken blackout, she thinks "But put a few drinks in me and I turn into Mrs. O'Leary's cow. Or a cave person. Boy was she popular." This is a reference to when Buffy drank mystical beer that turned her into a cave woman in "Beer Bad". *Buffy's blackout is later revealed to have been caused by Andrew. He had roofied her drink, and transported her mind into the Buffybot without telling her, while keeping Buffy's real'' body in a progammed state of being "normal" in order to protect her due to Spike's constant warnings. ("Apart (of Me), Part One") *Buffy states that she was "according to popular report, tightly wound. " Faith once said something similar about her on two occassions, describing her as "wound too tight" in the episode "Faith, Hope & Trick" and calling her "Little Miss Tightly Wound" in "Dirty Girls". *Riley is the second person after Spike (both of them being her main love interests at some point) to approve and reassure Buffy that destroying the seed was the right choice. Noted by Buffy, as she mentions Spike's pep talk in "Last Gleaming, Part Five". *Xander is uncomfortable at the party, causing Buffy to ask if he wants to talk about "it". This is later revealed through flashbacks in "The Watcher" to be about him near-killing Angel after Giles had died. *In a drunken state, Buffy tells the police officers that she scored highest on a test to be a police cop. This was refering to the Career Test she did in "What's My Line, Part One". *Buffy is shown juggling for people at the party, being quite skilled at it. She was also did this during Xander's wedding to Anya in "Hell's Bells" to buy time until he arrived. *Spike's warnings of someone coming to get Buffy is soon revealed to be Severin in "Freefall, Part Four". *Willow's revertion to being magicless will later motivate her to embark on a quest to return magic to the world in "Slayer, Interrupted". ''Her warnings of the world falling apart since the end of magic will also be repeatedl throughout ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine and Angel & Faith. '' Appearances Individuals *Buffy Summers *Xander Harris *Dawn Summers *Anaheed *Tumble *Willow Rosenberg *Aura *Robert Dowling *Miranda Cheung *Riley Finn *Spike *Andrew Wells *Eldre Koh *Simone Doffler *Root Organizations and Titles *Slayer Species *Slayer *Vampire *Human *Unidentified debt collector demon *Unidentified demon (Eldre Koh) Events Locations *San Francisco Weapons and Objects *Seed of Wonder (only mentioned) * Mr. Gordo Body Count *Cynthia Daniels, siphoned by Severin. *Several unspecified demons, killed by Eldre Koh. Behind the Scenes Collections *Freefall'' *''Buffyverse Sampler'' * Buffy Season Nine Library Edition, Volume 1 Pop Culture References *Buffy greeted Xander and Dawn with "Honey, I'm home" like Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy. *There is a bus ad for the musical "Wicked" seen behind Buffy in a panel. *Buffy referred to herself as Mrs. O'Leary's cow after having a few drinks. The cow alledgely started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 after kicking over a lantern. *Tumble can briefly be seen playing Mass Effect. Quotes Gallery Previews BuffyPre1.jpg BuffyPre2.jpg BuffyPre3.jpg BuffyPre4.jpg BuffyPre5.jpg BuffyPre6.jpg BuffyPre7.jpg BuffyPre8.jpg BuffyPre9.jpg BuffyPre10.jpg BuffyPre11.jpg BuffyPre12.jpg BuffyPre13.jpg BuffyPre14.jpg BuffyPre15.jpg BuffyPre16.jpg nl:Freefall, Deel Eén Category:Season Nine Category:Buffy comics